The Elks Lodge, a fixture in Fort William for the past 85 years, is for sale.
With the new consolidated courthouse under construction right across the street, house lodge president Steve Merlo said they’ve received interest in the property.
The lodge is listed at $1.8 million and Merlo said with that interest they’ve seen, they are trying to be proactive.
“We don’t really want to have to move. We don’t have to. If we don’t get the right price, we’re going to be staying here,” he said. “With the courthouse going up, we figured it was a good time to list the building and see what happens.”
The Thunder Bay lodge has 350 members, the second largest Elks membership in Canada. The organization started 95 years ago on Victoria Avenue and then moved to the Syndicate Avenue location 10 years later.
That’s where they’ve remained for 85 years.
The Elks hockey organization has been around for 65 years and the Elks clown band for 75.
If the building is sold, Merlo said they will definitely carry on business as usual, just in a new location.
He couldn’t comment on any possible new homes for the Elks, but Merlo said they have scouted a few places already.
“We just want to make sure that if the right price comes a long, we want to be able to go somewhere else. We want the lodge to be here for a long time,” he said.
Several buildings in the southside downtown core have been demolished to make way for the consolidated courthouse and the parking space that will be required, including the former YMCA and King's Stereo buildings.
The courthouse is expected to open in 2014.
